The bust, together with similar features, crowned the shoulder of a dedicatory cauldron. The inlaid eyes are rendered in a different material. This type of cauldron was imported from the east in the 8th cent., probably via Samos, since such cauldrons were also manufactured there in large numbers until the 7th cent. B.C. These busts were originally produced by hammering and were later produced by casting. The griffins, mythological creatures of composite nature, were thought to guard the treasures of the Arimasps, a mythical race of the north. They were later associated with the cult of the dead.